Monday, April 22

I've always been a big fan of the
festival, from its humble Sinking Creek beginnings to its current
“international” status. I try to support the Nashville Film
Festival each year when it rolls around, and although I rarely get to
see as many movies as I’d like, I nevertheless try and attend at
least one or two screenings. The first thing I always do is search
through the listings and see what horror offerings are on tap. The
NFF website made it even easier this year by allowing you to sort by
category. I looked under HORROR and the search turned up seven
listings: Six features and a collection of shorts called GRAVEYARD
SHORTS. I opted for the latter, as it was screening Saturday the 20th
and I had that evening free. I figured it might be fun to see a
collection of horror shorts and was looking forward to some creative,
scary, and well-made short films. Here is the description of the
short film block:

Graveyard
Shorts - From the deeply disturbing, to the raucously silly; from
spine-tingling chills to the mind-bendingly weird - this collection
of shorts is one you won't soon forget.

Sounded intriguing. Well, for the most
part it was a pretty interesting batch, some better than others. But
about three quarters of the way through, a short “film” screened
that turned my stomach. It made me angry, honestly, because it wasn’t
a horror film and it had no business being in the festival to begin
with. It was called Coco D. Nut and was a 3min music video of a
squirrel puppet singing a moronic song about looking for a nut. It
was made by Big Kenny. Now I had no idea who Big Kenny was before
this, (because I don’t listen to country music), but have since
found out he’s one half of the country music duo BIG AND RICH (the
other half is the guy who built that god-awful eyesore on top of Love
Circle).

Here’s the thing. This was a
well-produced video, technically speaking. But the music was, to put
it bluntly, shit. It was embarrassing, complete with a “rapping”
segment. My son looked at me and asked what the heck this was. It was
obvious that this video was only in the festival because of who made
it. The Nashville Film Festival has aspirations of greatness, wants
to be on par with Sundance and Cannes – but as long as they pull
this crap, kissing up to local “celebrities” and screening
garbage like this, they’ll always be considered a second-rate
festival. It is an embarrassment to Nashville that this was included
in their film festival.

Most frustrating of all is the fact
this took the spot of some deserving filmmaker. I’d love to see
some of the shorts that were rejected in favor of Coco D. Nut. I am
sure there were some real gems excluded in favor of this ridiculous
pandering.

By the way, Big Kenny was in the
audience, as was pointed out by NFF employees before the show – but
he got up and left after his short screened. Guess he was too “big”
to stick around and chat with people after the show.

Rob has been a busy feller - new movie opened this week and his new CD hits stores soon. Here's the video for his first release - "Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown." Break dancing skeletons, hot chicks, a muscle bound yeti and more await - dig it!

Saturday, April 20

Suck
is a 2009 film that follows a struggling pop-punk band called THE
WINNERS. The band members are singer/guitarist Joey Winner (played by
writer/director Rob Stefaniuk), bass player Jennifer (Jessica Pare),
drummer Sam (Mike Lobel), lead guitarist Tyler (Paul Anthony), and
roadie Hugo (Chris Ratz).

While
playing a typical late night gig in a dive bar a strange, pale faced
guy enters and makes his way toward the stage. This is Queeny, played by
real life rocker Dimitri Coats. Dmitri has a really great look - wide
face, piercing eyes, long curly hair - he makes one genuinely creepy
vamp. He gains and maintains eye contact with Jennifer for the rest of
the show, making her obviously self-conscious. Afterwards the two cozy
up at a side table, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile Joey is talking with band manager Jeff, played by Dave Foley.
Jeff is a lousy excuse for a manager, honestly, and even tells them as
much. A sarcastic waitress brings the guys drinks, courtesy of the
bartender, played by none other than rock legend Alice Cooper. The
waitress is played by Calico Cooper, Alice’s real life daughter. Joey is
stopped on his way out by the bartender, who gives him a bit of
ominous, if somewhat vague, advice.

Jennifer tells the guys that rather than spend the night in a crowded
hearse she’s going to a party with Queeny, and she’ll be back in the
morning. Joey questions if that’s a good idea, since she doesn’t even
know this guy. She ignores him, chalking it up to jealousy (they used to
date) and heads off with Queeny. Joey’s concerns were justified,
however, as we discover Queeny is a vampire, and his party is a
gathering of bloodsuckers.

The
next morning Jennifer is nowhere to be found. The band waits as long as
possible, but finally has to hit the road. Fortunately Jennifer shows
up just before show time, looking radiant. She informs them that she
hitched a ride with the opening act, The Itchies. However, they just
dropped her off and she doesn’t know where they disappeared to. There is
a real glow about her, and Joey remarks that she somehow looks
different. Onstage the crowd reacts positively to the band for the first
time - but all their enthusiasm is directed toward Jennifer.

We
later find out that she, in Hugo's words, "Ate the Itchies." You see,
Hugo is the first person to discover Jennifer's little secret, but she
charms him into not telling the rest of the band, instead serving as her
own personal "Renfield." He helps dispose of the bodies of her victims
in exchange for a promise to one day turn him into a vampire, too.

The band continues their tour across Canada and into the U.S. Along the
way we follow their course on a map, animated with blood splatters
rather than Indiana Jones-style dotted lines. These are punctuated with
animated clips of a claymation hearse making its way from town to town.

Meanwhile
the band is being stalked from town to town by an eyepatch wearing
vampire hunter Eddie Van Helsing (a name that immediately conjures up
images of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, appropriately enough),
played by Malcolm McDowell.

There is a flashback sequence where we see Malcolm as a young man who
loses his bride to be to a vampire. I was amazed at how good the footage
of Malcolm looked, and wondered if they used some kind of computer
generated wizadry to make him look young in this scene. However, it
turns out these were actually scenes from a 1973 film called "O Lucky
Man" which were integrated seamlessly into the movie. It really looks as
if they were made for Suck, so Kudos for the flashback sequence.

At the U.S. border they are stopped by a guard who thinks they look
suspicious and makes them pull over and step inside. The coolest cameo
of the movie (and I say that as a lifelong RUSH fan), this guard is
played by none other than Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. He asks if they
have any drugs and they say no. The guard suddenly lights up when he
hears they’re in a band, and he delivers my favorite line in the movie -
“Oh, you’re a band eh? I used to be in a band. Played a little guitar…”
A real tongue in cheek comment coming from a rock god like Alex
Lifeson!

A
few other rock idols make appearances in this movie. Moby plays Beef
Bellows, front man of rival band The Secretaries of Steak, a band whose
fans show their appreciation by throwing raw meat…

Henry Rollins plays Rockin’ Roger, a douche bag DJ who invites them to be guests on his program…

Iggy Pop plays Victor, a retired rock star turned record producer who
owns a studio where they stop in to record a track. Victor recognizes
Jennifer for what she is right off the, er, bat. He tells Joey this’ll
end badly for him and the rest of the band, and he should kick her out
if he knows what’s good for him…

He is right, as the band members notice the audience response and decide
that they want to become vampires too. They one by one talk a reluctant
Jennifer into turning them into blood drinkers. With each undead
addition the audience reaction grows stronger and stronger. The Winners
are becoming rock stars!

Meanwhile Eddie eventually catches up to and convinces the band there is
only one way to be free of this curse. Kill the head vampire and the
curse will be lifted. But you just know it ain’t gonna be that easy… and
you just know Alice is gonna pop back up at some point, too.

Suck is a lot of fun. It’s smartly directly, has a great script, and a
really cool rock vibe about it. Rob Stefaniuk did a terrific job
balancing the humor and horror elements in Suck. This is only the second
feature Rob Stefaniuk has directed, the first being a 2004 comedy
called Phil the Alien which he also wrote and starred in. The cast all
do a really good job, and Rob seems to have a real handle on the dual
chores writing and directing, which I can imagine isn't necessarily an
easy thing.

I find the theme of the band becoming undead in order to bring their
career to life interesting. While living the Winners were losers, but in
death they found new life. Talk about a rock and roll reincarnation!

The music The Winners play is really good, but a bit poppy for my taste.
Writer/Director Rob Stefaniuk actually wrote and performed a good chunk
of the music in this one, including all the songs the band does. There
are also tracks by Dmitri Coats' band Burning Brides, David Bowe, Lou
Reed, Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones and of course Alice Cooper.

One of the cooler segments in the film happens in the scene at Queeny’s
place where he breaks out into song as the camera whirls about the room
and we see Jennifer’s physical reactions to being turned into an undead.
This plays out like a music video, rather than a musical, and works
really well.

Suck is a smart film full of odes to Rock n' Roll, such as this shot of
the band wrapped in the British Flag (The Who - The Kids are Alright)
and the shot of the band crossing single file across the street (The
Beatles - Abbey Road).

It's obvious Rob is a Rock and Roll fan and this is his love letter to
the genre. Suck is a fun movie that never takes itself too seriously –
and I think that is the main thing that keeps this from living up to its
name. You make a movie called Suck you better darn well make sure it
doesn’t – this is definitely a film worth seeing – now available on
Netflix.

Wednesday, April 17

So have you guys heard who's coming to Fright Night this year? None other than the one and only Demon himself, Gene Simmons of KISS. He'll be joining Stan Lee, William Shatner, Gillian Anderson and many more! July 26-28, 2013 in Louisville, KY!

Friday, April 12

Everyone's favorite podcast of Spooky Music and more hosted by the one and only Strange Jason goes weekly starting this episode, and in addition to all the usual fun (spooky music, Monstermatt minute, etc.) it now features my Recommended Movie of the Week as well. That is a series originally done for youtube where I recommended one of my favorite films. It's basically not a review so much as a suggestion - I like this movie and think you will too. You can check out the latest episode of 6 ft plus here:

Thursday, April 11

The Rondo Awards winners have been announced and I'd like to give a big congrats to fellow horror host Count Gore DeVol (Dick Dyszel) for being elected to the Rondo Award Hall of Fame, and to fellow host Svengoolie (Rich Coz) for winning Favorite Horror Host for last year! Sven's show is on the scare-waves Nationally now on MeTV, and Count Gore recently celebrated his 40th anniversary as a host. Well done, fellas!! Keep up the Ghoul work!!

Tuesday, April 2

The 11th annual Rondo Awards voting ends Sunday! If you haven't voted yet, get crackin! Here is the ballot, copied from the Rondo award page www.rondoaward.com. To vote, simply send your selections to taraco@aol.com. It's that simple. Vote in as few categories as you like - But do it quick, and be sure to add your name in the email for it to count!!

-- AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM, 'I Am Anne Frank
(Parts 1 and 2)' 11.7.12-11.14.12, The identity of Bloody Mask is revealed.
'You can begin by kissing her cold lips. Don't worry, she won't bite. I
took her teeth.'

-- THE BIG BANG THEORY, 'The Transporter Malfunction,' CBS,
3.29.12. Leonard Nimoy shows up in the apartment as a Spock action figure.
'My Mr. Spock doll came to me in a dream and forced me to open it.'

-- CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS, TCM, Rebroadcast of long lost
1964 Rod Serling TV special about a Cold War yuletide. 'How can you sit
there and eat like that, when these people are starving?'

-- DOCTOR WHO, 'The Angels Take Manhattan,' BBC, 9.29.12. The
future intrudes on the time travelers in 1930s New York. 'Statues, the man
said. Living statues that moved in the dark.'

-- FRINGE, 'Transilience Thought Unifier,' Fox, 9.28.12. The
final season shifts to 2036 as the Fringers search for former allies.
'Nobody wants to find Olivia more than I do, but you're going to need some
pants, Walter.'

-- GRIMM, 'Last Grimm Standing,' NBC, 2.24.12. Murder
investigation leads to an underground all-monsters fight club. 'The beasts
were loosed into the arena, and among them, a beast of huge bulk and ferocious
aspect. Then the slave was cast in.'

-- MOCKINGBIRD LANE, Halloween special, NBC, 10.26.12. A new
cast of Munsters move into the neighborhood in this reboot directed by Bryan
Singer. 'You were never a Munster until I made you a Munster. Eddie was born
one.'

-- ONCE UPON A TIME, 'The Doctor,' ABC, 10.28.12, Dr. Whale is
revealed as another mad doctor in this surprise homage to Universal horrors.
'When they say I charge an arm and a leg, that's meant as a figure of
speech.'

-- SUPERNATURAL, 'Party On, Garth,' The CW, 3.30.12. Hunter
Garth needs help fighting a Japanese Shojo, only visible when the hunter is
drunk. 'Can you even get drunk anymore? It's kind of like drinking a vitamin
for you, right?'

-- COMPLETE HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR
(Synapse). All 13 episodes of 1980s series.-- DAIMAJIN (Mill Creek).
Japanese trilogy from 1966 features giant statue of vengeance.-- DARK
SHADOWS: The Complete Original Series. All 1,225 episodes on 131 DVDs.

-- UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS: The
Essential Collection. Nine restored films, from Dracula and Frankenstein to a
3-D Creature.-- ALFRED HITCHCOCK: The Masterpiece Collection. Fifteen of his
all-time films.-- WHEN HORROR CAME TO SHOCHIKU (Criterion). X from Outer
Space, Goke, Living Skeleton and Genocide.-- Or write in another choice:

-- MOST DANGEROUS GAME (Flicker Alley): Best it has looked;
audio restored as well.-- SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES (Kino). One of six Rollin
restorations, this one from original negative.-- A TRIP TO THE MOON (Flicker
Alley): Blu-Ray restores original colors from 1902 version.-- ZAAT! (Film
Chest): DVD/Blu-Ray restoration is eye-popping and head-shaking.-- Or write
in another choice:

-- 'Gow, the Headhunter,'
Exploition-era 1931 documentary included with MOST DANGEROUS GAME.-- 'Ike,
Adlai and Eli.' Eli Roth talks about the impact the film had on his career.
MOTHER'S DAY-- 'Incredible Mr. Lippert,' featurette from Ballyhoo on 1950s
sci-fi producer Robert L. Lippert. MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000 XXIII.

-- 'Mad Monster Party: Making of a
Cult Classic,' featurette on Blu-Ray. MAD MONSTER PARTY.-- 'The Original
House of Horror,' 50-page booklet included with UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS
set.-- 'Remembering Rosemary's Baby,' ROSEMARY'S BABY-- Or write in
another choice:choice:

8. BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (Click on
VIDEO LINKS to see clip or trailer)

-- AMERICAN MARY, directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska. The perfect
body, taken to extremes. Video link-- DEAD
WEIGHT, directed by Adam Bartlett, John Pata. 'Minneapolis is under some kind of
attack.' Video
link-- THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. 'Repo'
veterans reunite for a musicaljourney to a carny hell. Video link-- GRABBERS,
directed by Jon Wright. Can binge drinking defeat tentacled monsters? Video link-- HOUSE OF
GHOSTS, directed by Christopher R. Mihm. Dinner party terrors in this tribute to
William Castle. Video
link

-- LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF
ROSALIND LEIGH, directed by Rodrigo Gudino. The dark side of angel worship,
including an old dark house. Video link-- PLAY
DEAD, directed by Shade Rupe. Teller's magic-filled spook show documented. Video link-- SUICIDE SHOP, directed
by Patrice LeConte. Animated musical from France about a shop that helps with
... well. like the title says. Video link

-- Or write in another choice:

9. BEST SHORT FILM (Click on VIDEO LINKS to see the film,
a clip or trailer)

-- THE BEAST FROM TWENTY ZILLION YEARS AGO, directed by Ryan
Lengyel. Shot in the shadow of Three Mile Island. Video link-- EVEL
KNIEVEL ON SKULL ISLAND: The Rescue of Ann Darrow, directed by Brian Nichols.
Worlds collide. Video
link-- THE CAPTURED BIRD, directed by Jovanka Vuckovic. A day at the
park reveals a dark shadowed secret. Video link.

-- THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, directed by Raul Garcia.
Animated version narrated by Christopher Lee. Video link-- HOWIE'S
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN, created by Ethan Black. Animated short in the classic style.
Video link--
INCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 73, directed by Brian Thompson. Two men disappear in the
desert on Christmas Eve. Video
link.-- JOE COMES TO LIFE, directed by Tom Woodruff Jr. The original
armature of Mighty Joe Young is re-animated. Video link-- NARRATIVE
OF VICTOR KARLOCH, directed by Kevin McTurk. Puppets tell a Gothic ghost story.
Video link.

-- NICKY, directed by Dom Portalla. The truth about a little
brother's abduction.Video
link-- NUKA-SAURUS, directed by Dylan Druktenis. Recreating a horror
from '1957,' in color. Video link-- THE OTHER
SIDE, directed by the Santoro Brothers. A nanny and an intruder spark horrors
at a farmhouse. Video
link-- POSTHUMAN, directed by Cole Drumb. A hacker, a dog, and ESP. Video link

Or write in another choice:

10. BEST DOCUMENTARY (full length;
Click on VIDEO LINKS to see the film, a clip or trailer)

-- THE AMERICAN SCREAM, directed by Michael Stephenson. Visits
with a trio of Halloween-obsessed families. Video link-- AMICUS:
HOUSE OF HORRORS, directed by Derek Pykett. Two DVDs of history and interviews
with Amicus alumni. Link-- BEAST
WISHES: THE FANTASTIC WORLD OF BOB & KATHY BURNS, directed by Frank Dietz
and Trish Geiger. The history of fandom's 'goodwill ambassadors.' Video link

-- MEN IN SUITS,
directed by Frank H. Woodward. The saga of the actors within the gorilla, alien
and monster suits. Video
link-- MY AMITYVILLE HORROR, directed by Eric Walter. Thirty-five years
later, the man who lived there in real life talks about the emotional scars to
him and his family. Video
link-- THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING, directed by Erik Hollander. New
interviews and background footage on the making of JAWS. Video link.-- UNDER
THE SCARES, directed by Steve Villeneuve. A look at the indie horror industry
through the eyes of Kaufman, Rochon, Romero and others. Video link

-- THE FORREST J ACKERMAN OEUVRE, compiled by Christopher M,
O'Brien (McFarland, hardcover, 242 pages, $45). Lists more than 3,000 works in
all media by Golden Age sci-fi fan and editor of Famous Monsters.

-- MUSIQUE FANTASTIQUE: 100 Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction &
Horror Film Music, Book One, by Randall D. Larson (Creature Features, $29.95 ).
With cover art by Bill Nelson, this first volume (1900-1959), updates a classic
examination of the music behind the screams.

-- SHOCK THEATRE, CHICAGO STYLE:
WBKB-TV's Late Night Horror Showcase, 1957-1959, by Donald F. Glut (McFarland,
softcover, 204 pages, $35). The second city was second to none when it came to
television frights.

-- THE SPACESUIT FILMS: A History, 1918-1969, by Gary Westfahl
(McFarland, softcover, 371 pages, $50). Tracing the history of Hollywood and
foreign movie adventures into space.

-- STANDING IN THE SPIRIT AT YOUR ELBOW: A History of Dickens'
Christmas Carol as Radio/Audio Drama, by Craig Wichman (BearManor Media,
softcover, 238 pages, $19.95). Tracing the aural tradition from 1905 to
today.

-- STUDIES IN TERROR: Landmarks of Horror Cinema, by Jonathan
Rigby (Signum, hardcover, 304 pages, $25.95). Exploring 130 moments that changed
the genre, from Nosferatu to Let the Right One In.

-- 'Charles Darwin and the Suppressed Science of Dr. Mirakle,'
by Robert Guffey, VIDEO WATCHDOG #166. How the 1930s debate over evolution
motivated Lugosi's experiments in 'Murder in the Rue Morgue.'

-- 'Christopher Lee: A Career Retrospective,' by Aaron
Christensen, HORRORHOUND #34. Tracing the performances through 61 of his
films.

-- 'Discovering the Censored Scenes from Dracula,' by Simon
Rowson and Stuart Hall, LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #28. Following the trail to
Japan, a determined scholar rescues deleted scenes from the 1958 Hammer
classic.

-- 'Dracula, Frankenstein,' by Tim Lucas. VIDEO WATCHDOG #171. A
review, a reverie, a rediscovery of the restored versions of the Universal
classics.

-- 'Ghosts of Horror Past: 25 Films That Have Been Lost to the
Sands of Time,' by Kelly Robinson, RUE MORGUE #124. Tracing the mystery of
missing Golems, Jekylls, Creeping Cats and more.

-- 'Godzilla: Just Say Noh,' by John E. Petty, G-FAN #99. How
Toho's giant monster film plays also as classical Japanese noh drama.

-- 'I Sing Bradbury Electric,' by Steve Vertlieb, FILM MUSIC
REVIEW. A remembrance of the author of the fantastic.

-- 'The Kind of Fiend Who Wins -- The Making of The Abominable
Dr. Phibes,' by Justin Humphreys, LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #29. The definitive
exploration of the Vincent Price classic.

-- 'Ladies of the Shadows,' by David-Elijah Nahmod, FAMOUS
MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #261. A reminiscence of Dark Shadows.

-- 'Nostalgic Fear for Your Ears,' by Ed Gannon. UNDYING
MONSTERS #4. A survey of the haunted audio records of the 1960s and beyond.

-- 'The Notebooks of Frankenstein,' by Mark C. Glassy. SCARY
MONSTERS #84. An obsessive recounting of Dr. Frankenstein's various notebooks
and notes found throughout the Universal films.

-- '100 Memorable Moments from Toho Fantasy Films,' by Martin
Arlt, G-FAN #100. From Godzilla's first appearance destroying a fishing boat to
a Final Wars battle.

-- 'PG Horror,' by Kenneth Nelson with Nathan Hanneman and Matt
Moore, HORRORHOUND #37. How filmmakers pulled off shocks while staying within
the Hollywood lines.

-- 'Ray Bradbury's Earliest Influences,' by Terry Pace, MONSTERS
FROM THE VAULT #30. In a career-spanning remembrance, the storyteller tells how
early fantasy films, and especially Lon Chaney, inspired his craft.

-- 'The Sexy Side of Silent Horror Cinema,' by Lianne
Spiderbaby, FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #261. Conrad Veidt and Mary Fuller
brought more than emoting to the early films of the fanatstic.

AGAIN, TO VOTE simply copy this ballot and make your
picks by highlighting your selection, putting an X by your selections, or by
typing out your picks separately. Whatever is easiest. Then e-mail your picks
to taraco@aol.com

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"Reads like a literary Tales from the Crypt" - RUE Morgue Magazine

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